JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — On the deadline day to file federal taxes, the Jackson Town Council got its first macro level look at the budget for Fiscal Year 2023.
The recommended FY23 budget submitted by town manager Larry Pardee focused on revenues and expenditures in five community priority areas: core services, environment, health & human services, multimodal transportation, and affordable/employee housing.
This morning’s special town workshop marked the first of five scheduled sessions to hash out FY23 before adoption on June 20. The new fiscal year begins July 1.
Pardee, now in his 18th year with the town, said the coming year’s budget will “invest in public services and support Jackson’s quality of life and community character while providing for a stable future.”
The town is faced with growing challenges and a shrinking Fund Balance despite collecting record amounts of sales tax revenue. Runaway inflation is driving up construction costs at such a rapid rate, it’s almost impossible to budget for large capital projects. And inflation isn’t the only thing running away. Labor shortages, in general, have made it difficult for town to staff many positions.
It will take a reduction in expenditures along with finding additional revenues for the town to remain solvent, Pardee said, noting that twice in the past two decades the town has had to drastically reduce its budget to stay in balance, including during the peak of COVID.
“We’ve always been able to rely on revenues above projections,” noted Arne Jorgensen during Monday morning’s meeting, adding that it was not a prudent way to continue to operate.
Budget bloat in FY23 is led by cost overruns projections for the Rec Center expansion. Town is on the hook for $6.5M to bring that project in. The START Bus budget also tripled overnight, jumping from a 3-year average of $400k a year to an anticipated $1,434,656. Finance director Kelly Thompson explained this is due mainly to an increase in services, especially START’s new On-Demand shuttle service.
The council will meet again tomorrow for another budget discussion.
